I'm trying to fill out a W4 for a new job, and am a little confused at the two-earners section (as I have been in the past). The very last step (line 9) says to divide the amount of withholding needed by the number of remaining pay periods and enter that amount as the amount withheld from each paycheck.
What I don't get is why would I want to withhold the full amount of withholding for the year, over only the remaining pay periods? Wouldn't I want to divide the full amount by the number of pay periods total in the year and enter that for my per-paycheck withholding amount? For example:
If I calculate an amount of $4,000 for line 8 (additional annual withholding), and my new job will only have two pay periods remaining (two December paychecks), that would give me $4,000 / 2 = $2,000 per paycheck. That makes no sense whatsoever, because I have been withholding additional amounts at my previous job at the appropriate rate all year. What makes more sense to me is to take $4,000 / 26 pay periods in a full year = $154 per pay period (or per paycheck).
Am I wrong here? Or am I misreading the form?
Thanks in advance.